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SANTA CRUZ, CALIF.

A 15-year-old boy charged with murder, kidnapping and rape in
the death of an 8-year-old girl in an artists' complex in a
California beach town is scheduled to appear in court.

Police say Adrian Jerry Gonzalez lured Madyson Middleton into
his family's apartment from a courtyard where she had been
riding her scooter over the weekend. Once inside, he tied her
up, sexually assaulted and killed her, according a charging
document.

Neighbors look at the growing memorial of flowers, stuffed
animals and notes left in memory of Madyson Middleton in Santa
Cruz, Calif., Wednesday, July 29, 2015. The close-knit community
of artists in Northern California are grieving the death of the
8-year-old girl whose body was found in a trash bin at their
housing complex and expressed shock that one of their own, a
teenage boy, has been arrested in her death.

Gonzalez is expected to be arraigned Thursday in a Santa Cruz
court.

Gonzalez remains in custody at the Santa Cruz County juvenile
detention center, where he has been held since the girl's body
was found in a recycling bin Monday evening.

"Unfortunately, the search for Maddy ended in the worst way
possible," Santa Cruz District Attorney Jeffrey Rosell said.

He said Gonzalez has been charged as an adult and added that in
his two decades in Santa Cruz, he's never seen a 15-year-old
charged with murder.

The charges could send Gonzalez to prison for the rest of his
life.

Larry Biggam of the Santa Cruz public defender's office said he
expects to be appointed as the teen's lawyer at the arraignment
Thursday, but he declined to comment on the case.

Authorities haven't been able to establish a motive in the
killing. "People do things for lots of reasons, sometimes we
understand it, sometimes we don't," Rosell said.

Neighbors at the Tannery Arts Center where both the suspect and
Madyson lived said they were stunned by the death. The center is
a public-private nonprofit that includes 100 affordable loft
apartments for artists and their families. About 250 people live
in the complex, including about 50 children.

"It's a great community because it's a bit unusual," Geoffrey
Nelson, a photographer and Tannery resident, said. "You share
the joys of people, their children growing up. Their art shows,
their recitals. But you also share the sorrows."

Nelson said he's known Gonzalez for several years and described
him as shy, though they often chatted. "He was a yo-yo-expert,
so he was oftentimes showing you tricks," Nelson said.

Residents have been heartbroken to learn that he is suspected in
the death, he said.

"It wasn't somebody from the outside," Nelson said. "It was
somebody we all knew. It was someone we all knew and liked."

Setorro Garcia, a Tannery resident who knew both the victim and
suspect, said Gonzalez had been curious about the investigation.

"He kept asking, 'Any updates?'" Garcia said.

Another resident, Kirby Scudder, described Madyson as a typical
8-year-old, alternately shy and gregarious.

"She was very smart, and I thought she was going to be an
engineer," he said. "She had a great sense of humor."

Madyson was headed for fourth grade in the fall.

She had a little, black dog named "Lucy" and tearful children at
the Tannery Wednesday placed pictures and notes on a growing
memorial overflowing with bouquets, stuffed animals, balloons
and candles.

"It was nice how you were so perky," wrote one.

"We all miss you," wrote another, next to a picture of the slain
girl with wings and a halo.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/article29517670.html

 

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